Posted by: Audriana Mekula-Hanson, Wagner College Holocaust Intern 2014
When it first hit me that I would be meeting a Holocaust survivor, I was both humbled and nervous. I thought, “This man’s story has played such a large role in history because every day he is a living testament to the atrocities of our past.” I would imagine that would be a large burden, knowing that you are left to carry not on your own story, but the stories of so many others. When I watched clips from his interview and realized he was spent time in both Slovakia and Hungary, I felt honored to meet him because I am a quarter Slovakian and a quarter Hungarian and I have never met anyone outside of my own family who shares that ethnic background. While my family is not Jewish and had emigrated before World War II, when I told Arthur about my lineage, I saw his eyes light up and I felt an instant connection between us, founded solely on our shared background.
Aside from my personal connection, Arthur’s story is very compelling because it is filled with anxiety about the unknown, which is an emotion almost all of us can relate to. When he is told he must flee Poland for Slovakia, and again when he is told to flee Slovakia for Hungary, he is so young, but yet is charged with being strong for his younger sisters. He must deal with the fear of his infant sister crying out while they run, or his mother’s sprained knee while climbing the mountains to Hungary, on top of the constant fear that at any moment, they could be caught and killed. He will tell you it is only luck that led him to safety, but I think in saying that he is selling himself short; part of it was also his family’s strength and refusal to lose hope that one day the war and persecution will end.
In presenting this material to the tenth graders at Port Richmond High School, I felt that I was charged with a large responsibility. While many of them had heard about the Holocaust, few of them knew just how destructive it was to not only the Jewish culture, but the world itself. When they did learn about the true atrocities of the Holocaust, many of the students felt an extremely close connection to what the Holocaust survivors faced and the persecution they face on a daily basis. When I realized that they understood that the Holocaust mattered to them because the ignorance behind the Holocaust still exists today, I felt that I had accomplished what I had set out to do. I truly believe each student will not forget the day they met Arthur, and will cherish the lessons about survival and resilience that he taught them.
With that being said, I hope the students in five years will remember the hardships Arthur faced, but his ability to remain hopeful and positive despite all of it. Arthur could feel anger and hatred towards those who caused him to suffer, but he does not. He seems at peace with his past and is not defined by the struggles he faced, but instead by what he was able to do about his pain afterward. This is what I hope the students remember; that it will not be fair, it will not be easy, they will struggle and they will encounter hardships that seem impossible to overcome, but it is possible. I want each of my students to remember that like Arthur, they have inside of them an invincible spirit that can survive anything and can grow from the experience.
This is why this and any other exhibit, or project, or item that memorializes the Holocaust is so important. The story of resilience and survival is relatable to every human being and should be shared with the world. It is important to remember that we are all equal; we are all one race. There is no black and white, no Jew or Christian, no German or American. We are all members of the human race, and our creation of boundaries and differences are merely social constructs based on nothing. The Holocaust is one of many genocides in both American history and world history that can be prevented if we all take a step back and realize we are one. No one should live through what Arthur did because it is based on ignorance and ideas that we all have the power to stop and the power to change. It is our generation that can change the way society views itself. It is our generation that can prevent future Holocausts; we must prevent future Rwandas and Sudans and even Eric Garners. We must take the lessons that history teaches us and genuinely adopt the motto, “Never again.” We must not let Arthur’s stories, or any stories, die. To keep them alive, we must ensure that no one continues to live these stories and experience these memories. It is up to us, the young people, to be the change we wish to see in the world, and the change that we all deserve.
With thanks to:
Artie Driscoll, Social Studies Teacher, Lisa Pollari, Asst. Principal and Tim Gannon, Principal of Port Richmond High School, and to the Chai Society, Wagner College.